10 Best Sci-Fi Movie Cliffhangers
5. Back To The Future & Back To The Future Part II
Another sci-fi franchise that favoured cliffhangers was the iconic 80s series, Back to the Future.
The first film ends with Michael J Fox’s Marty returning home (to 1985), and all seems well and good until Doc (Christopher Lloyd) returns, telling him that “there is something wrong” with his and Jennifer (Claudia Wells)’s kids.
Then, the second film gets a lot more complex, as Marty again becomes trapped in 1955, with no Doc or time machine. He discovers that Doc has been accidentally transported to the 19th century, and with no-one to help him, he reunites with the younger Doc in 1955.
Both cliffhangers set up their respective sequels very well, while not ruining what has come before. This is the reason why Back to the Future is often seen as the perfect film trilogy - each film (even, Part II, which is a lot more overly complicated), works as their own individual entity, with a singular story and character arcs.